Sydney FC stand on the brink of a stunning coup in bringing Alessandro Del Piero to the A-League, and the nerves that will jangle for every second until he actually signs are entirely appropriate after a week of high-wire manoeuvres.

Sydney CEO Tony Pignata leaves this morning for northern Italy, armed with a restaurant reservation in Turin and a contract that, assuming it gets autographed by Del Piero, 37, will bind one of the world's biggest names to the Sky Blues.

But the speed of the negotiations, and the leap of faith involved, can be summed up by FFA sources admitting that the contracts confirming Nicky Carle's departure from the club - which created the vacancy for Del Piero - were only finally ratified on Friday morning, about eight hours before Del Piero's brother-cum-agent, Stefano, broke the good news to Sydney. It's been that kind of week.

The first email to Stefano Del Piero, formally signifying FC's intent, was sent on Tuesday evening. But in the background was the relationship with Del Piero's club of two decades, Juventus, forged by FIFA licensed agent Lou Sticca.

It was Sticca who brought Juventus to Melbourne in May - though Del Piero didn't play in that game - and the contacts honed then gave Sydney's offer instant credibility.

Pignata was determined to be open about his approach, while respecting the essential privacy of discussions with a footballer whose future move was a constant source of speculation in Italy.

The initial response was guarded but positive, leading to a teleconference between Pignata, Sticca and Stefano Del Piero on Wednesday night. When the Italian camp requested a reconvening of talks several hours later, Sydney felt they were inching towards something spectacular.

All the while came almost hourly updates across the European press claiming that deals with Tottenham, Swiss club Sion and Celtic were at various degrees of progress.

Late on Wednesday there was an agreement to halt talks but to start again the following evening, Sydney time.

It was agony for Sydney fans and equally so for the FC board, with chairman Scott Barlow receiving a stream of texted updates and questions as the talks went on.

Another hour of discussions on Wednesday showed how seriously the Sydney offer was being taken, with the Del Piero camp seeking detailed information on the state of football in Australia and the extent to which his arrival might alter that dynamic.

Sydney's was a good story to tell in response but the request to reconvene for a third night meant another sleepless night for Barlow, Pignata and Sticca.

At 6pm on Friday the numbers were dialled again. This time, though, the tone was utterly different: "See you Monday," Stefano said, inviting Pignata to Italy for a face-to-face meeting.

What it means essentially is that Sydney have moved into pole position, with the chequered flag in sight.

The substantive terms have been agreed, but until the contract is inked by both sides then nothing is certain - that was shown by Sydney's urgent clarification to the media late on Friday, as the world's media assumed that the deal was done. All of which leaves Sydney's staff, players and supporters in knots of agony.

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